The Republic Day parade in Delhi is the largest and unarguably the most important parade marking the Republic Day celebrations in India. The parade showcases and celebrates India’s Defence Capability, Cultural and Social Heritage at Rajpath, New Delhi, every year.
Since 1950, India has been hosting a head of state or government of another country as the state guest of honour for the Republic Day celebrations.
Selecting the chief guest for the Republic Day parade is no routine affair.
The choice carries either a strong intent or an emphatic reiteration on the part of the government, or both. As India wants to extend commercial and social ties with certain countries, the chief guest is usually picked from a nation that India wants to build – or reaffirm – its friendship with.
| Year | Chief Guest Name | Country |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | President Sukarno | Indonesia |
| 1951 | – | – |
| 1952 | – | – |
| 1953 | – | – |
| 1954 | King Jigme Dorji Wangchuck | Bhutan |
| 1955 | Governor General Malik Ghulam Muhammad (first guest for parade at Rajpath) | Pakistan |
| 1956 | – | – |
| 1957 | – | – |
| 1958 | Marshall Ye Jianying | People’s Republic of China |
| 1959 | – | – |
| 1960 | President Kliment Voroshilov | Soviet Union |
| 1961 | Queen Elizabeth II | United Kingdom |
| 1962 | – | – |
| 1963 | King Norodom Sihanouk | Cambodia |
| 1964 | – | – |
| 1965 | Food and Agriculture Minister Rana Abdul Hamid | Pakistan |
| 1966 | – | – |
| 1967 | – | – |
| 1968 | Prime Minister Alexei Kosygin and President Josip Broz Tito | Soviet Union Yugoslavia |
| 1969 | Prime Minister of Bulgaria Todor Zhivkov | Bulgaria |
| 1970 | – | – |
| 1971 | President Julius Nyerere | Tanzania |
| 1972 | Prime Minister Seewoosagur Ramgoolam | Mauritius |
| 1973 | President Mobutu Sese Seko | Zaire |
| 1974 | President Josip Broz Tito and Prime Minister Sirimavo Ratwatte Dias Bandaranaike | Yugoslavia Sri Lanka |
| 1975 | President Kenneth Kaunda | Zambia |
| 1976 | Prime Minister Jacques Chirac | France |
| 1977 | First Secretary Edward Gierek | Poland |
| 1978 | President Patrick Hillery | Ireland |
| 1979 | Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser | Australia |
| 1980 | President Valéry Giscard d’Estaing | France |
| 1981 | President Jose Lopez Portillo | Mexico |
| 1982 | King Juan Carlos I | Spain |
| 1983 | President Shehu Shagari | Nigeria |
| 1984 | King Jigme Singye Wangchuck | Bhutan |
| 1985 | President Raúl Alfonsín | Argentina |
| 1986 | Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou | Greece |
| 1987 | President Alan Garcia | Peru |
| 1988 | President Junius Jayewardene | Sri Lanka |
| 1989 | General Secretary Nguyen Van Linh | Vietnam |
| 1990 | Prime Minister Anerood Jugnauth | Mauritius |
| 1991 | President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom | Maldives |
| 1992 | President Mário Soares | Portugal |
| 1993 | Prime Minister John Major | United Kingdom |
| 1994 | Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong | Singapore |
| 1995 | President Nelson Mandela | South Africa |
| 1996 | President Dr. Fernando Henrique Cardoso | Brazil |
| 1997 | Prime Minister Basdeo Panday | Trinidad and Tobago |
| 1998 | President Jacques Chirac | France |
| 1999 | King Birendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev | Nepal |
| 2000 | President Olusegun Obasanjo | Nigeria |
| 2001 | President Abdelaziz Bouteflika | Algeria |
| 2002 | President Cassam Uteem | Mauritius |
| 2003 | President Mohammed Khatami | Iran |
| 2004 | President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva | Brazil |
| 2005 | King Jigme Singye Wangchuck | Bhutan |
| 2006 | King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz al-Saud | Saudi Arabia |
| 2007 | President Vladimir Putin | Russia |
| 2008 | President Nicolas Sarkozy | France |
| 2009 | President Nursultan Nazarbayev | Kazakhstan |
| 2010 | President Lee Myung Bak | Republic of Korea |
| 2011 | President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono | Indonesia |
| 2012 | Yingluck Shinawatra First Female Prime Minister of Thailand | Thailand |
| 2013 | Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck | Bhutan |
| 2014 | Shinzo Abe (Prime Minister) | Japan |
| 2015 | Barack Obama (President) | United States of America |
| 2016 | Francois Hollande | France |
| 2017 | Crown Prince Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan | Abu Dhabi |
The Republic Day parade in 1955 stood out for a couple of reasons. One, the chief guest at the parade was from Pakistan – governor general Malik Ghulam Muhammad – and, two, it was the first time the event was held at Rajpath (after experimenting with temporary venues, such as Ramlila Ground, for years).
The last time the government picked a chief guest from the neighbouring country for the parade was in 1965, when it hosted Pakistan food and agriculture minister Rana Abdul Hamid. The two countries went to war less than three months later.